The Pawns of Havoc

At a Glance: A Brutal Novella Packed With Violence and Heart

The Pawns of Havoc is everything you want in a grimdark novella—it grabs you by the shirt in the first 10 pages and rips you through this brutal story, with such impeccable pacing that you feel like you blinked and it ended. Full of great battle sequences, a complete plot full of twists, betrayals, and a subtle romance that adds so much depth to these characters, you’ll be wondering how in the hell you got so attached in under 200 pages.

Lawson takes one of my favorite side characters from his first book The Envoys of War Cork, and shows just how complex and deep he can get with his character work. Taking Cork from the brute who wields axes and has a few good quips, to a deeply conflicted character who is ultimately just a devoted son, doing whatever he can to ensure his mother survives. Lawson does a great job building empathy for Cork as he unravels the parts of his life that lead him to be the standoffish mercenary we saw in Envoys.

The Pawns of Havoc follows Cork as he embarks on a mercenary mission into the frozen lands to eliminate a convoy with two companions he did not choose and that he can’t tell about the true nature of their mission. This story is full of non-stop action, witty one liners, dark choices, twists, and a little bit of love. The low magic, classic fantasy adventure novella serves as a great entry point into Lawson’s Envoys of Chaos series and can be read fully standalone with no previous knowledge of the series, world, or characters.

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Hometown Grimness: Tight Scope That Trusts the Reader

The Pawns of Havoc takes a unique approach to world-building that lends itself perfectly to the short novella format. It avoids info dumps by using scenes that showcase the magic system while simultaneously building connection to the characters that are witnessing the suffering the magic can cause for those who decide to flee the Winn’s home island. Through almost entirely dialogue and banter you suddenly find yourself familiar enough with the world that things just click in a natural way that never takes you out of the experience.

While we do get brief glimpses into the world at large through conversations and context clues, the pacing keeps the world a bit tightly scoped, but gives it a more hometown feel than expansive fantasy world. This works well as you almost get a sense of being just as stuck in the situation as Cork is, while the Winn hold the solution to all his problems over his head, and don’t hesitate to weaponize his dedication to his family. There is no hand holding or long expositions which really allows the important parts to shine and trusts that you’ll be able to pick up the rest as you read, allowing more room for the plot and characters to shine.

You just cost me three hundred damn crowns, you Winn bastard. I hope one of yer bloody warwolves bites your manhood off.

Unlike the typical quest fantasy, The Pawns of Havoc feels like you’ve stepped into a drab, grim place that only rewards the ruthless and punishes those who are weak and not only out for themselves. The Frozen Lands to the north amplify that feeling as Cork and crew venture forth to complete their mission where they will be forced to brave the ice storms, creatures, and sparsely populated barren land in hopes they can complete their task.

Grumpy Axe-Lover Meets Overconfident Yapper: Trio Done Right

The story is told through the main character POV of Cork, but through him we experience some absolutely fun, deep, and well developed companions that make you appreciate every interaction with them.

Cork is our big, grumpy, axe loving exile who will do anything to cure his mother of the sickness caused by leaving the Winn island and it’s magical cult behind. Quickly we see that he isn’t a book we can judge by the cover, and that most of that gruff exterior and dry-ass humor—which always got me to chuckle—is just a way for Cork to try and avoid dealing with his emotions. He wants to be a good son, but to do so he has to do terrible things, forcing him to try and reason through if doing the wrong things for the right reasons justifies his actions. Cork really shines as he deals with his feelings for Arabella, and it was so much fun getting to see him stumble and put his foot in his mouth as he slowly lets his guard down.

Arabella is a cobblers daughter, who like any young person from a small town is seeking adventure any way she can get it. This leads her to joining the crew run by her uncle and led by Cork, where from the very start it was clear I was going to love her. She’s got so much sass, takes jabs at Cork from the first interaction, and is so wildly overconfident that instead of being annoying, it’s endearing. She also LOVES to yap, even when Cork is rude as possible in an attempt to get her to shut the hell up, she persist and slowly whittles down the walls Cork has spent his life putting up. She lights up the page any time she’s involved, and frankly she is what makes this story great.

Oh, Connick, you need not worry. I'll whimper and sniff my way into their hearts, and then you can send your blades into their skulls.

Nessa is our third musketeer, she’s as rough as they come, and gives exactly zero Fs about anything if it’s not putting money in her pocket. She spends a lot of the book threatening to kill just about everyone she encounters which ends up being pretty hysterical when you couple it with the dark humor she relies on to communicate. Lawson also leverages her perfectly to bring levity to some of the more intense moments, and she even ends up meddling in the budding feelings between Cork and Arabella though if you asked her she probably wouldn’t even realize it.

Fast and Fulfilling: Novella Pacing Done Right

This novella moves and holds you in its clutches from the first couple pages and refuses to release its grip on you until you’re flipping the last page finding yourself staring in awe at what just happened. There is not a single page wasted by Lawson in The Pawns of Havoc, this novella is something I will now use as the bar for how this short format should read. The most impressive part for me is that even with the pace, I never felt like things were skimped on in the interest of time or format. All the world-building, plot weaving, and character development felt complete and full of life, and I think that is all due to Lawson’s choice to trust the reader to use context to flesh out any finer details.

This is definitely a sit down and read it start to finish type of book, the plot grabs you, but the characters are what keep you hooked and invested throughout. It has what feels a complete arc, and while I think Cork has a good progression through this story, there was a few times it felt like he’d have an emotional breakthrough and then immediately regress. This was just a minor thing that could just be part of who Cork is, but the time or two I noticed it, it felt like it happened to push the plot in a certain direction.

If ya need to cry, go cry. Ain't nothin' gonna change, girl.

The fight scenes were a lot of fun to read, they always had a feeling of high stakes, enough detail to really portray the moment, and never felt like they had a predetermined outcome. I found myself nervous for the trio every time they had an encounter which resulted in violence, which was often. There was some great twists weaved in that I truly didn’t anticipate and heightened this short story that much more.

Between the Sheets: Perfectly Forced Proximity

Arabella was one of my favorite parts of this book because she is fun, witty, not afraid to say some unhinged thing, and so wildly overconfident that it makes an annoying like how much she talks endearing. Lawson uses this perfectly to slowly chip away at Cork’s stunted emotional capacity, but don’t let that fool you, this isn’t love at first sight, it’s a perfectly crafted slow burn that feels natural. While we do get a somewhat resolution to that slow burn build, we don’t get into any spicy territory earning this a 🌶️ (1.0) on our spice scale.

While it may not get spicy, Lawson does a pretty amazing job at making the romance between Arabella and Cork feel earned and believable. Both of them are impossible in their own ways, but as they work together and Cork starts to gain some emotional awareness, they slowly and not very smoothly make it to that peak of the romantic sub plot. The way Lawson ends it is painfully fitting.

Bro Reading Comfort: Road Trip Ready

With no on page intimacy and a cover that while eye catching due to the old school fantasy aura it gives off, nothing about this book will get awkward around your family on a long trip. While it does get a dark during some points, it’s much more of an emotional type of darkness, earning The Pawns of Havoc a 😳 (1.5) on our comfort scale.

To be honest with the way the pace is handled in this one, unless it’s a short trip you might want to also grab The Envoys of War as well. Once you’re in Dave’s world, you’re just going to leave wanting more of it.

Darkness Factor: How Far Would You Go For Family?

The Pawns of Havoc certainly can get dark while Lawson explores the grim reality of Cork’s situation. We get a raw look into morality and the cost of the decisions Cork has made and continue to make for the sake of trying to save his mothers life earning this a 💀💀💀 (3.0) on our darkness scale.

It’s quite impressive how deep thematically we get to go into Cork’s battle with himself over if he can still be a good person if he completes this mission and murders all the people in this convoy. Every dark avenue Lawson takes is purposeful, nothing throughout this novella feels like it was place in there for shock value. These dark themes are perfectly balanced out with some witty banter and funny unexpected one liners between the trio.

Book Battlefield: Standalone Novella That Stands Out

If you enjoy the quick wit banter dispersed throughout some gritty dark thematic exploration like you get in Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils or Calum Lott’s Immortal Aberration, then you’re really going to enjoy The Pawns of Havoc. Lawson perfectly times the banter between the trio to hit just when it’s needed most while never making it feel like the stakes have gotten any lower. It doesn’t ever lessen the uneasy stressful feeling of the characters situations, but it gives you a moment to come up for air as the story gets heavier through the middle.

The other thing that really sets this one apart from other prequel novellas I’ve read is that it truly feels like a standalone where had I no previous knowledge of the world or Cork, would have been just as enjoyable. Prequels usually suffer from one of two things in my experience, either they don’t lay enough groundwork and focus too much on the ending, or they get lost in the sauce during the first half and the ending feels rushed. Lawson manages to dodge this common pitfall of the format and delivers just enough on both ends to give a satisfying experience from start to finish.

If you’re looking for where to shelve this one, it sits comfortably next to quick-read grimdark novellas that pack emotional gut-punches into compact formats—perfect for readers who want the depth of character work and dark themes without committing to a 600-page epic.

Should You Bother?

For Grimdark Fans: Having read The Envoys of War before this, I had a hard time picturing this being as dark as it claimed to be, and I have to say I’ve never been happier to be wrong. If you enjoy a good grimdark like Red City or An Inkling of Flame, this is a perfect one to pick up and demolish in a day.

Fans of a Slow Burn Romantic Subplot: Another big surprise was just how earned and real the romantic subplot between Cork and Arabella felt. The way they both can’t stand each other to having feelings trope (I think that’s a trope?) for each other doesn’t feel rushed even though it happens in such a short span.

If You Love Forced Proximity Romance: The “stuck on a mission together” setup delivers perfectly here. Cork and Arabella’s dynamic shifts from barely tolerating each other to genuine connection through shared danger and close quarters, all while Cork’s hiding the true nature of their mission. It’s enemies-to-lovers adjacent with actual stakes.

For Fans of The Envoys of War: This is a really great view into Cork’s past and some good bit of extra lore about the Winn. The upside to this is that you won’t feel like you’re sitting through a portion of rehashing for new readers telling you things you already know because The Pawns of Havoc perfectly weaves those details into the scenes in natural ways.

Final BroMantasy Verdict

The Pawns of Havoc pulled me in and had me wrapped up in Cork’s story in the first few pages and then didn’t let me go until I finished it. I never wanted to put it down because as it progressed, every time you thought you had a grasp on whats next, Lawson would hook me with a reveal or a twist that put me back on my heels. This novella is everything I love about grimdark, witty banter, dark themes, brutal combat, morally complex characters, and that all important flicker of light in the darkness we get with the romantic subplot of Arabella and Cork. I can’t say enough about how impressed I am that this prequel novella was able to deliver on all of those things in the short format, earning this a 4.5/5.

Lawson really puts on a show with his prose and pacing by trusting the reader to fill in the broader details of situations and moments using context from the scenes and conversations. It allows for more page time to be spent on developing the characters and allowing you to connect and care for them. Even though it’s single POV, it felt like Arabella got just as much depth and distinct personality as Cork. While not as much of a standout as Arabella, Nessa has great depth, a distinct voice, a violent—but endearing—personality, and just overall really adds to a scene every time.

Overall I really enjoyed my time reading through The Pawns of Havoc, it had some great characters, unexpectedly dark themes, and a complete arc all jammed into a fantasy novella. Much like its full length older sibling, it feels like just a good old fashion classic fantasy romp just told through a darker lense. It’s been really fun to see how Lawson’s writing has progressed from the first book to this already!

Be sure to check Dave Lawson out on socials, not only does he write “certified bangers”, but he also has awesome socials, like dogs that pick their favorite indie authors! All Dave’s links: X Instagram <- he probably has other socials but alas these are the ones I follow.